Wife devastated as Rolf Harris is charged with child sex offences

THE wife of veteran entertainer Rolf Harris was said to be “devastated” yesterday after he was charged with child sex assaults in the 1980s.

Rolf Harris is alleged to have molested two teenage girls between 1980 and 1986

Alwen Harris, 82, who has arthritis, was stunned as her husband heard he faces nine counts of indecent assault on two girls aged between 14 and 16.

The 83-year-old singer and artist, who once painted the Queen’s official portrait, was also charged with four offences of making indecent images of children last year.

Australian-born Harris is alleged to have molested the two teenage girls between 1980 and 1986.

He is accused of indecently assaulting one girl six times between 1980 and 1981 when she was 15 and 16. The other was allegedly assaulted three times in 1986 when she was 14.

Harris will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on September 23.

He is the fourth man to be charged following investigations by Scotland Yard’s Operation Yewtree.

The multi-million pound probe was set up in October last year to investigate the alleged sex crimes of the late BBC DJ Jimmy Savile.

Allegations faced by Harris are unconnected with the disgraced former Top Of The Pops presenter.

Harris’s mansion in Bray, Berkshire, was searched by Yewtree detectives in November last year and he was later interviewed under caution. Police arrested him for the first time in March and for the second time earlier this month.

His Welsh-born wife, a sculptress and jeweller who married Harris in 1958, said after the second arrest: “My poor husband. It’s terrible, we’ve been really worrying about it. We’ve both been having sleepless nights.”

Yesterday, the couple’s close friend and neighbour Vince Hill, 82, was stunned by the news but convinced Harris is innocent.

The veteran singer said his biggest concern was for Harris’s wife.

He said: “This will hit her very hard. She’s crippled with arthritis, suffers problems with her hips and knees and is in her 80s. She’ll be devastated.”

Mr Hill, who has known the couple for 50 years, added: “I can’t find words to describe my shock and disbelief.

“I will always be there for him and if he wants me and my wife Annie in court to support him, so be it. We will never desert him."

The entertainer with his 80th birthday painting of the Queen in 2006

It’s terrible, we’ve been really worrying about it. We’ve both been having sleepless nights

Alwen Harris

The decision to charge Harris was announced by senior Crown Prosecution Service lawyer Alison Saunders, who will succeed Keir Starmer as Director of Public Prosecutions in November.

Mrs Saunders, Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS London, said: “We have carefully considered the evidence gathered by the Metropolitan Police Service as part of Operation Yewtree in relation to Rolf Harris. A file of ­evidence was passed to the CPS on August 12 2013.

“Having completed our review, we have concluded that there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest for Mr Harris to be charged with nine counts of indecent assault and four of making indecent images of a child.

“The alleged indecent assaults date from 1980 to 1986 and relate to two complainants aged 14 and 16 at the time of the alleged offending.”

Harris also faces four offences of making indecent images of a child between March and July 2012.

Mrs Saunders added: “The decision to prosecute has been taken in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors and the DPP’s interim guidelines on prosecuting cases of child sexual abuse.

“We have determined that there is sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction and that a prosecution is in the public interest.”

In recognition of his achievements as an artist and entertainer, Harris was made a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2006 and was also appointed Officer of the Order of Australia in Her Majesty’s list last year.

He painted an official portrait of the Queen for her 80th birthday.

The other men charged under ­Operation Yewtree are PR guru Max Clifford, ex-Top Of The Pops presenter Dave Lee Travis and former BBC driver David Smith. None of the cases is linked to Harris or to each other.